Humility and Gratitude

[Swamp Girl]

I just watched a video by Randy Blaukat. The video is three posts below.

 

In the video, Randy talks about the importance of being humbled. He argues that being humbled reminds us to be grateful for the fish we do catch and to treat them with all due respect. He compares being humbled on the water to being hungry, that no one appreciates food like someone who's hungry and no one appreciates water like someone who's been thirsty. 

 

I started fishing by being humbled again and again. As a kid, my dream was to catch a 17-inch bass like my brothers caught. I never did, at least not as a child and teenager. I hooked a few, but they all broke free because my reel was junk, my rod was junk, and my line was junk. My fishing knowledge was also junk. We went to Michigan once and I bought a spoon (I couldn't afford a Dardevle spoon. It was a cheap, thinly pressed copy.). So, I cast it, let it settle to the bottom, and let it sit there, as if I were fishing for catfish with bait. 

 

And I finished this season being thrashed and bobbed by wind in the dark. I caught two dinks to close my season and spent most of that final trip trying to not be blown into the shore. 

 

One of my all-time favorite humbling-to-gratitude moments bass fishing was at Peninsula Point on the north shore of Lake Michigan. I'd read an old Field & Stream article about catching smallmouth at this point. So, I drove there one summer and fished it. Not a bass. I caught them in the Whitefish River, but none at the point. The next summer, I caught two powerful carp on crankbaits at the point, but no bass. I was getting hungrier and hungrier, thirstier and thirstier.

 

Finally, the third summer, I waded out farther than I ever had and happened to spot a rock about the size of a VW Bug just under the water. Well, that's where they were, seemingly all the bass at Peninsula Point. The waves were sloshing over the top of my waders, so I must have weighed hundreds of pounds when I finally slogged to shore, but for a few hours, my previous humblings put me in a state of glorious gratitude.

 

I was so deep that when the bass jumped, I looked UP at them and I had to keep my arms over my head lest my reel be underwater. I even had one bass, a four-pounder, park between my legs in mid-fight, using me like a time-out. 

 

Got any yarns of being humbled and set up to be gloriously grateful? 

[roadwarrior]

6 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

I just watched a video by Randy Blaukat. Am I allowed to link to it? 

 

Yes

[Darth-Baiter]

bass fishing to me is self humbling.  but I do agree with Randy on this one.

[Swamp Girl]

58 minutes ago, roadwarrior said:

 

Yes

 

Thanks, roadwarrior. Here's the link: 

 

[TnRiver46]

At least he wasn’t railing against FFS for the 70-80th time 

[Mobasser]

I have a lot of gratitude for being a member of BR. I've received lots of good advice and tips. There's some really good sticks hanging around here.

[T-Billy]

Humility and gratitude are good traits to have in all aspects of life. So is kindness.

[Chris Catignani]

I'm humbled when smallie jumps and gets off...then grateful that he threw the lure back.?

[Columbia Craw]

1 hour ago, T-Billy said:

Humility and gratitude are good traits to have in all aspects of life. So is kindness.

Wise words.

[T-Billy]

1 minute ago, Columbia Craw said:

Wise words.

Taught to me by my friend and mentor from Nazareth. Love that guy.?

[T-Billy]

4 hours ago, Mobasser said:

I have a lot of gratitude for being a member of BR. I've received lots of good advice and tips. There's some really good sticks hanging around here.

Absolutely!!! Hundreds of years of experience on all types of waters, freely shared, without pushing sponsors products. You can't beat that.

[Swamp Girl]

@T-Billy

 

Tim, you're the best.

[T-Billy]

13 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

@T-Billy

 

Tim, you're the best.

Awe... Shucks...?

[GreenPig]

Unsubbed from Randy, too much whinning. I'm humbled and thankful for every sunrise.

[Glenn]

51 minutes ago, GreenPig said:

Unsubbed from Randy, too much whinning.

I haven't watched him, but from what I hear, he's a major drama queen.  Lot's of complaining interspersed with contrived drama. 

 

Fishing is meant to be fun and relaxing, and he's anything but.  I'll never watch him.

6 hours ago, Mobasser said:

I have a lot of gratitude for being a member of BR. I've received lots of good advice and tips. There's some really good sticks hanging around here.

Absolutely!  And from all members, old and new!

[MN Fisher]

36 minutes ago, Glenn said:

I haven't watched him, but from what I hear, he's a major drama queen.  Lot's of complaining interspersed with contrived drama. 

 

Fishing is meant to be fun and relaxing, and he's anything but.  I'll never watch him.

I watched like 4 of his postings....and swore off him. You hit the nail on the head, Glenn. Seems he can't find anything he's happy with...and says that everyone but himself is doing it wrong.

[PressuredFishing]

I still watch randy for info, but unsubscribed because he often talks about overpopulation. I will not get political, but He has said multiple times that there are too many people on the earth, and we are using all the resources. It is true we have overfished the oceans and damaged animal habitat, but nonetheless from a ethical standpoint That's a very dangerous road to go down, for obvious reasons. I really just hope he doesn't think I'm one of the people "overpopulating" his planet yknow. An interesting economics study showed earth could sustainably support 12 million people also with technological innovation and specialization of industry.

 

And who knows, maybe a few of those extra 5 billion people in the future will be smart enough to figure out how to solve all of the problems in the world, it can't hurt to put brainpower together

 

[WRB]

While on a business trip to GD Electric Boat I stopped by a early FLW tournament held Northeast (Connecticut) River during flood stage.

The stage was unique the top 10 from a 2 day event had each boat bow to the stage while each contestant weighed 1 bass at a time. 

Randy was leading going into day 2 and only caught 2 bass the final day. After weighing his 2nd bass stormed off the stage in a fit of anger. Not Humble or grateful.

Tom

[NavyToad]

I like Randy Blaukut and have watched alot of his videos. He’s not real fond of the direction professional bass fishing has taken. So what? I’d hardly call him a whiner just because his opinion is different from mine/yours.

And if you’ve never watched his videos, you’re just parroting someone elses thoughts. I dislike Jacob Wheeler. So what? At the mention of Blaukut, the responses are so predictable - kind of like MSM.

[Susky River Rat]

I got treated badly when I first started musky fishing. I was called spoiled that I didn’t earn my fish, fish were to small I think I heard everything bad said about me. It fueled the hunger. It also got to where I measured my success off what others didn’t accomplish. I helped run a fishing Facebook page. Started out local then turned into about 35k members. I would get noticed at the ramp or on my boat. It all fueled my ego. Since 2020 I deleted all social media. I don’t measure my fishing success off of being better than others. I just fish for whatever species I want. I tend to fish with friends not fishermen. By that I mean a guy from work that might only get out once twice a year or my dad. I also fish a lot by myself. I don’t feel like I have an image that I need to maintain anymore. Finding success within yourself and not measuring it against anyone else is key. When you start getting an ego/image the humbleness and humility fade. That’s just my 2 cents to this all.

[Catt]

Ya wanna be humbled?

 

Take a kid fishing!

 

[Derek1]

10 minutes ago, Catt said:

Ya wanna be humbled?

 

Take a kid fishing!

 

That’s a good one. 

[Zcoker]

I think Randy's initial approach to things was old school normal Joe kinda stuff and sooner turned into something else...or is in the process of turning into something else. His two per day "in your face" style of broadcasting can get on the nerves. Yet he's very smart in churning up the pot and imprinting his face all over. He admits that he has no clue what his video's are going to be about. He goes back into his makeshift shed, flips on the light switch and camera button and then just starts talking. Often times while driving. He talks of humility and gratitude, stuff like that, content that just pops into his head which he slowly kneads into an opinionated shape over the course of the broadcast, sometimes in good ways, sometimes in bad ways. This mixture of feelings, agitation and/or friction that he might create is precisely his power, imho. Sometimes he hits the nail on the head; sometimes he doesn't. He knows this precisely and is using this vacillating approach to create a very formable YouTube channel. 

[Darth-Baiter]

at least he is very very good at Math.  he has those clickbait titles like, "90% of fisherman suck at this..."

[Zcoker]

35 minutes ago, Darth-Baiter said:

at least he is very very good at Math.  he has those clickbait titles like, "90% of fisherman suck at this..."

 

I've noticed his clickbaits are through the roof....moving right along lol